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GEO Groundswell of Support

In recent months, the Geothermal Exchange Organization (GEO) has effectively lent its support to several local initiatives by state-based geothermal heat pump (GHP) industry organizations. GEO is dedicated to growing the installation and use of GHPs across the nation.

 "GEO places a high value on its relationships with state geothermal heat pump (GHP) associations and coalitions, which are instrumental in promoting GHPs from a local perspective," said GEO President Doug Dougherty.

"Our goal is to affiliate with like-minded organizations covering all 50 states, working with them to engage state energy administrations and gain 'buy-in' by electric utilities," he continued. "Over the long-term, that will be the key to our overall success, as these grassroots organizations successfully represent the interests of the GHP industry."  Following are brief updates on GEO involvement with GHP industry activism at the state level.

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GEO Supports California GHP Bill

In a March 29 letter to Chairman Steven Bradford and Members of the California General Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee, Geothermal Exchange Organization (GEO) President Doug Dougherty expressed the association's and industry support for AB 2339, the Renewable Thermal Energy Deployment Act, which directs the California Public Utilities Commission—in consultation with other agencies and stakeholders—to evaluate policies, develop sufficient infrastructure and adopt rules to overcome barriers to the wide-spread deployment and use of geothermal and solar heating and cooling technologies.
    "GEO is the national trade association representing the geothermal heat pump (GHP) industry.  We stand in full support of Assembly Bill 2339 and its mandate that requires the California Public Utilities Commission to identify and address barriers to more widespread installations GHP technologies.
    "Buildings consume 73% of the nation’s electricity. GHPs are among the most energy efficient, environmentally clean and cost effective systems available for heating and air conditioning. A GHP is a distributed technology that captures a thermal form of renewable energy from the Earth, and it is available everywhere.
    "GHPs save 40 to 70% of energy consumption by buildings of all sizes, which would go
a long way toward helping California meet its visionary carbon emission reduction goals. With current federal tax credits and other incentives, payback for the consumer (depending on the structure) can be in some cases be immediate, and certainly no longer than 3 to 5 years.  At the same time, increased installations of GHPs would create a variety of well paid jobs across the state.
    "GHPs should be included in California energy policy, and GEO believes that AB 2339 is a good start in recognizing GHPs for the environmental and economic benefits that they offer to your state and its citizens."  See the proposed legislation here.

Maryland Geothermal Heat Pump RPS Bill Passes

The Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard - Renewable Energy Credits - Geothermal Heating and Cooling bill has passed the state legislature in Maryland. The bill is a long-awaited first step toward winning recognition by governments and utilities for the renewable thermal energy produced by geo-thermal heat pumps (GHPs). The legislation makes GHPs an accepted technology for utilities to use toward earning Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) under the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS)

The Maryland RPS stipulates that electricity suppliers (utilities and competitive retail suppliers) use renewable sources of energy like wind, solar and biomass to generate a minimum portion of their retail sales, in annual percentage increments to a level of 20% by 2022. Electricity suppliers demonstrate compliance with the RPS by accumulating RECs that are issued by the state for the renewable power they provide to their ratepayers. With the new law, GHPs offer yet another option for utilities to meet their renewable energy purchase requirements and earn RECs under the state’s RPS mandate.

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GEO Board of Directors Reorganization

During a meeting of the Geothermal Exchange Organization (GEO) Board of Directors, the group reorganized its leadership, unanimously electing the following as officers:

• Chairman - Tom Huntington (WaterFurnace)
• Vice Chairman - Keith Swilley (Gulf Power - Southern Company)
• Secretary - Phil Schoen (Geo-Enterprises)
• Treasurer - Steve Smith (Enertech Global LLC)
• Board Member - Dan Ellis (ClimateMaster)
• Board Member - Chris Mays (Emerson Copeland)

The Board concurred in thanking Tom Huntington for taking on the responsibility of the chairman-ship, and extended its gratitude to Dan Ellis for his long-term efforts, support and dedication to the association.

The Geothermal Spectrum: Clearing Up Confusion About Ground Source Heat Pumps and other Geothermal Energy Applications

Geothermal Energy — or Earth Heat — is a clean, abundant, and renewable natural resource that is helping us meet our environmental vision.

In efforts to educate the public about geothermal, or ground-source, heat pumps (GHPs), the Geothermal Exchange Organization (GEO) finds that in many cases its audiences know little about geothermal energy, and often confuse GHPs with resources that create hot springs and high-pressure steam that can fuel electric power plants.

To address this educational opportunity, GEO has created a one-page, illustrated flyer called The Geothermal Spectrum, which describes each of the three ways that we can access the Earth's heat, including Geothermal Heat Pumps, Direct Use, and Geothermal Power. They are grouped according to their Earth temperature.

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GEO 2012 Legislative Fly In

The Geothermal Exchange Organization (GEO) Board of Directors converged on Washington, DC on Feb. 28-March 1 for the association's Second Annual Legislative Fly In. In attendance were Vice Chairman Tom Huntington (WaterFurnace), Steve Smith (Enertech), Phil Schoen (Geo-Enterprises), Keith Swilley (Gulf Power-Southern Co.), and Chris Mays (Emerson). They were joined by GEO members; President and CEO Doug Dougherty; staff members John Kelly and Ted Clutter; Ed Krenik and Scott Segal (Bracewell Giuliani); and Heather Podesta and Benjamin Klein (Heather Podesta + Partners).

Prior to the group's Capitol Hill visits on March 1, Dougherty visited two federal agencies that have become more involved in the promotion and deployment of geothermal heat pump technology. He met with staff at the General Services Administration (GSA), which has retrofitted GHPs in several rehabilitated federal buildings. GEO is offering technical assistance on a variety of related issues for GSA, including operations and maintenance specifications and job requirements for certain work classifications.

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GEO 2012 Legislative Issues

During the Geothermal Exchange Organization (GEO) Second Annual Legislative Fly In to Washington, DC, the GEO Board of Directors, members, staff, and lobbyists pursued the following five key issues for the U.S. geothermal heat pump industry:

1) Ensure that GHPs Qualify Under Federal Renewable Purchase Requirement

In 2005, the Energy Policy Act required that a certain percentage of electricity used by the federal government come from renewable sources. For fiscal years 2007-2009, the Act required at least 3 percent of electricity used by the government to come from renewable sources. The requirement increased to 5 percent for fiscal year 2010, and will increase to 7.5 percent for fiscal year 2013.

Unfortunately, the way "renewable energy" is defined excludes geothermal heat pumps. The Act defines renewable energy as "electrical energy generated from solar, wind, biomass, landfill gas, ocean, geothermal, municipal solid waste, or new hydroelectric generation capacity..."

Geothermal heat pumps (GHPs) do not qualify under the Energy Policy Act because they technically do not generate electricity—even though they can reduce energy use by as much as 40-70 percent in a typical building. GEO believes that the thermal energy avoided with the installation of geothermal heat pumps should count toward the law's renewable energy purchase requirement.

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